Rail-joint.



' Patented July 8, |902.

T. HUBERDEAU.

RAIL JOINT.

n led Apr. 15, 1902 (No Model.)

if Au 6 ...hlvIMllhl l [W\ ,WWW a y d. WW n Uivrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HUBERDEAU, OF LARIMORE, NORTH DAKOTA.

l RAIL-JOINT..

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 704,190, dated July 8, 1902.

Application led April 15, 1902. Serial No. 103,035. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ 'Lu/"1,0711, t may concern: I

Be it known that I, THoMns HUBERDEAU, a citizen of the United States, residing at Larimore, in the county of Grand Forks and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints g and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention provides a rail-joint of novel formation which holds the contiguous ends of adjacent rails against both vertical and lateral stress, thereby attaining all the advantages resulting from a continuous rail and obviating the objectionable features of joints permitting the abutting ends of rail-sections to have play, which is injurious to rollingstock and trying to the nerves of passengers.

The invention consists of the structural details, novel features, and combinations of the part-s, which hereinafter will be more particularly set forth,illustrated, and iinally claimed.

In the drawings hereto attached and forming a part of the specification, Figure l is a perspective View of a rail-joint embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. l of the reverse side of the joint. cross-section about on the line X X of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the joint about on the line Y Y of Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a fish-plate.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The joint comprises the chair l, lisheplates 2, to be placed upon opposite sides of the rails, and the rail ends 3.

The chair l comprises a base el and outwardly-extending longitudinal flanges 5, the inner walls of said flanges being upwardly converged, so as to engage over and interlock with the lower edges of the fish plates. Notches 6 are formed in the edges of the base Ll to receive the spikes employed for securing the chair to a tie when resting thereon.

The fish-plates 2 comprise parts 7 and 8, the latter being outwardly and downwardlj7 Fig. 3 is a inclined and adapted to engage under the longitudinal flanges 5 of the chair, so as to interlock therewith. The parts 7 come against opposite sides of the web portion of the rail ends and their upper edges are adapted to interlock with the lat-eral extensions of the rail-head 9, which are undercut for this pur pose, as shown at 10. The fish-plates intere lock at their lower edges with the chair l and at their upper edges with the head of the rails. Hence the use of bolts for clamping said plates against opposite sides of the rails is not necessary, but may be resorted to as a precautionary means of securement. The sh-plates are placed `in position and forced home by a longitudinal sliding movement, this being necessary because of the interlock in g feature between their' upper and lower edges and the rail and rail-chair. When the rail-chair is placed upon a tie or sleeper and is spiked thereto, longitudinal movement is prevented, and when bolts are used to clamp the fish-plates against opposite sides of the rails said fish-plates are prevented from loose ening or displacement.Y When bolts are dispensed with for clamping the iishplates against the sides of the rail, longitudinal movement of the sh-plates is prevented by interlocking means between them and either the chair or rails, or both. In one construction the lower corners of a lish-plate are cut away on a bevel,.as shown at 11,'and the ad; jacent corners of the subjacent fiange 5 are bent inward to fit said beveled corners, as shown at 12', thereby preventing relative longitudinal movementv of the chair and fishplate. It is also proposed to provide a iish plate with an extension 13 at its upper edge, and after the sh-plate has been properly positioned this extension 13 is bent to enter a depression formed by cutting away the lower corners of the head of the rail ends, as shown at le. When the joint occurs intermediate of adjacent ties, the interlocking feature bee tween the rails and the fish-plates and between the latter and the chair prevents lone gitudinal movement of said parts and renders the joint secure.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new ieee In a rail-joint, rails having the lower corportions at the lower corners of the rail-heads,

ners ofthe head of the adjacent ends cut away, substantially as specified. 1o a rail-chair, and ish-plates arranged on op- In testimony whereof I affix my signature posits sides of the rails and having their lower in presence of two witnesses.

5 edges interlock with the said chair and their THOMAS HUBERDEAU. [1... S.]

upper edges interlock with the head of the Witnesses: rails, one of the fish-plates having an exten- J. D. CAMPBELL,

sion to enter the space formed bythe cut-away SAMUEL J. RADCLIFFE. 

